The present invention is related to collapsible toy structures such as tents and playhouses.
Collapsible structures that are used for playhouses are well-known in the art. They are typically collapsible into a small volume but can be easily popped up by various means, including the use of extendable frames and inflatable tubes. U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,396 described a collapsible structure that is provided with a plurality of foldable frame members each having a folded and an unfolded orientation. A fabric material is provided for covering a portion of each frame member to form a side panel therefrom. The structure may be folded and stored by folding the side panels and their corresponding frame members on top of each other about the hinge portions to have the side panels and frame members overlying each other. The overlying side panels and frame members are then collapsed by twisting and folding to form a plurality of concentric frame members to substantially reduce the size of the structure.
The above described structure has many advantages, but has the limitation of not being able to have substantially different sizes for the side panels. It is therefore an object to have present invention to provide improved collapsible structures.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a portable and reversibly collapsible structure that contains a bottom panel and a plurality of side panels. Each of the side panels contain a fabric material attached to at least one frame with each frame foldable between an expanded position and a recoiled position. At least two side panels are hingedly connected to opposing sides of the bottom panel. At least one detachable side panel is further attached to the bottom panel and in a position that is in between the opposing side panels. The connection between the detachable side panel and the bottom panel is reversible and detachable by a user. The connection between the detachable side panel and one of the opposing side panels is also reversible according to the needs of a user.
According to one embodiment, the bottom panel assumes a quadrilateral shape having two opposing edges interposing two opposing ends. Two side panels are connected to the opposing edges of the bottom panel (these two side panels are also referred to as the first and second connected side panels for ease of the description) while a first and second detachable side panels are provided at the two opposing ends. The first detachable side panel is provide with attachment means at the bottom for detachable attachment to one of the ends of the bottom panel. The first detachable side panel also contains an attachment means for detachable attachment to one side to the second connected side panel but is hingedly connected to one side of the first connected side panel. The second detachable side panel is detachably connected at the bottom to the other end of the bottom panel. This second detachable side panel is also provided with an attachment means for detachable attachment to one side of the first connected side panel but is hingedly attached on the other side to the second connected side panel.
In a second embodiment, the two detachable side panels are completely detachable from the bottom and the two connected panels.
In a third embodiment, the two connected side panels each contains two frames that are hingedly adjoined side by side to form a single side panel.
A distinct advantage of the instant invention is that the collapsible structure according to the present invention is extremely flexible in terms of size and shapes. Rectangular structures with the long side substantially longer than the short end, may be made and easily collapsible similar to the equilateral shape that was previously provided in the art. Furthermore, there is an added advantage of the second embodiment being able to interchange one or both end panels such that different shapes and functions may be substituted conveniently. The present invention thus provide a truly versatile and inter-convertible structure.